It is presently known to provide paid television entertainment stored upon video cassette tapes to television sets located in guest rooms in hotels and motels. In prior art systems it has been possible for a guest to originate a recorded program from various sources such as a hotel or motel using a microwave link to a hotel or motel or a video tape player located directly in the hotel or motel. The present invention is directed to an automated cassette library apparatus located at the source. Such a cassette library contains a plurality of video cassettes having varying titles from which an individual can select as desired from his hotel or motel room. Upon selection the apparatus automatically retrieves the selected cassette and inserts it into a video cassette player. The program is then communicated to the guest's television set in the guest's room. The manner of ordering a recorded program and relaying such program to the desired television does not form part of the present invention and is therefore not described in any greater detail herein. The present invention is directed to the apparatus which responds to command signals originating at a remote location such as a guest's hotel or motel room and physically transfers the selected video cassette from a plurality of video cassettes which constitute the video cassette library to a select video cassette player. Such transfer includes the use of a cassette transport unit having a cassette carrying cavity therein and including means for transferring a cassette in a first direction, relative to the cassette carrying cavity, to and from a cassette shelf, and in a second direction, relative to the cassette carrying cavity, to and from a cassette player, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, and for transporting the cassette transport unit vertically and horizontally relative to cassette storage shelves and cassette players.
It is known to provide apparatus useful in storing and retrieving objects upon demand using apparatus which travels in X, Y and Z directions. Examples of such apparatus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,536,194, 3,750,804 and 4,595,332.
The apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,194 relates to a document retrieval and handling system wherein each of a plurality of storage compartments includes a cartridge, holding up to 100 randomly arranged cards, and a cartridge transporting device. The transporting device includes a complicated cable arrangement for driving the device in X, Y and Z directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,804 relates to a complex and bulky warehousing system including a storage rack and a stacker crane movable relative to the rack for depositing and removing loads therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,332 relates to a stacker-retriever lift carriage which includes a telescoping shuttle including a shuttle base, middle table and top table disposed one atop the other and for bi-directional movement relative to each other. Such shuttle allows for movement of the top table at twice the relative distance of the middle table and in a corresponding direction thereto.
In all of the foregoing patents, automatic movement of the object being transferred relative to the transferring unit which retains the object during movement thereof from one location to another, is in a single axial direction. In other words, the transferring unit retrieves the object along a particular axis and delivers the object along the same axis.
It is also known to provide apparatus useful in storing and retrieving video cassettes upon demand using apparatus which may travel in X, Y and Z directions. Examples of such apparatus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,563,120, 4,734,005 and 4,867,628. However, in each of the foregoing patents the automatic movement of the video cassette relative to the transferring unit which retains the video cassette during movement thereof for dispensing or storing is in a single axial direction, the video cassette generally travelling in the same axial direction relative to the transferring unit from the beginning to the end of the retrieval or storage cycles. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,005, a video cassette is moved into and out of a transport unit relative to a storage bin and relative to a customer delivery base plate in the same general direction.
A similar confinement is provided for in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,628. In this patent apparatus is described for dispensing a video cassette from, and for inserting a video cassette into, a plurality of individual trays of a bank of trays. To this end a moveable housing is provided. Such housing also serves to transfer a video cassette to and from a receiver tray. Movement of the video cassette relative to such moveable housing is along the same axis whether such movement is to or from the bank of trays or receiver tray. In addition, the apparatus described in this patent is a gravity feed system wherein the individual trays, moveable housing and receiver tray are each angulated (inclined) such that gravity feed may be utilized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,120 is of similar interest in that a carriage is provided for retrieving and storing a video cassette relative to storage supports which are angulated such that gravity feed may be utilized. In addition, in this patent movement of the video cassette relative to such carriage will be in the same axial direction from the beginning to the end of the retrieval and storage cycles.
The use of a moveable housing which moves a video cassette relative to a plurality of video cassette shelves and a plurality of video cassette players is known in the art. In such apparatus, the moveable housing includes means for causing a video cassette which is stored upon an angulated shelf to be fed into the moveable housing under the influence of gravity and in a particular direction relative to the moveable housing. The moveable housing is then moved in an X and Y direction, as required, into alignment with a select video player, and the video cassette is then pushed therein in the same general direction relative to the moveable housing. The moveable housing includes means for also causing the video cassette to be fed in the same general direction from the cassette player back into the moveable housing under the influence of gravity upon completion of the playing of the video cassette. To this end, the video cassette player is also angulated. The moveable housing is then again moved in an X and Y direction, as required, into alignment with a video cassette shelf and the video cassette is pushed therein in the same general direction relative to the moveable housing.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a plurality of video cassette shelves and a plurality of video cassette players which are oriented at an angle will take up a considerable amount of space. It will also be apparent that a transporting unit which houses a video cassette being transferred between a shelf and a cassette player in which movement of the video cassette to and from such transporting unit is in the same general direction or along the same axis from the beginning to the end of the retrieval and storage cycles will provide a limited number of paths along which a video cassette can be moved.
It is an object of this invention to provide an automated video cassette library apparatus including a cassette transport unit having a cassette carrying cavity therein and including means for transferring a cassette in a first direction and in a second direction relative to the cassette carrying cavity, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction.
Yet another object is to provide such apparatus which includes a cassette transport unit for positively transferring a select video cassette to and from any one of a plurality of vertically stacked and horizontally disposed video cassette shelves and video cassette players adjacent thereto without relying upon gravity feed.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which will provide a large quantity of video cassettes and a substantially smaller quantity of video cassette players.
A further object is to provide such apparatus which will provide a plurality of various programs and a plurality of video cassettes for each program and a smaller plurality of video cassette players any one of which is capable of playing any of the video cassettes.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which is compact.
Yet a further object is to provide such apparatus which includes a cassette transport unit for positively gripping a select video cassette to remove such cassette from a select video cassette player, such unit further serving to push a select video cassette into a select video cassette player.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which is modular.
A further object is to provide such apparatus including a compact housing and a modular video cassette storage cartridge which contains a plurality of video cassettes and may readily be inserted into and removed from such housing and accessed by a cassette transport unit for transferring video cassettes to and from such storage cartridge.
Yet another object is to provide such apparatus which includes a cassette transport unit for quickly transferring a select video cassette from a video cassette shelf to another video cassette shelf or to a video cassette player and from a video cassette player to another video cassette player or to a video cassette shelf.